Washington Works

About the Program
Chemours' Washington Works plant began manufacturing operations near Parkersburg, West Virginia, in 1948. Habitats at the plant include forest, grassland and wetland. The team works to augment the population of cavity nesting songbirds on-site.

Practices and Impacts

• In a project initiated in 1988, the team maintains 74 nest boxes throughout the site with a focus on the eastern bluebird. Other species utilizing the boxes include chickadees, titmice, tree swallows and house wrens. Box occupancy is high, with 80-90% of the boxes being used each year.
• In 2019, the team added six roosting boxes built by local Cub Scouts to provide shelter for birds during the winter months.
• The team has also added food sources for songbirds by planting trees that provide fruits and seeds and/or attract the insects that songbirds feed on.
• In 2020, an Eagle Scout candidate built a sheltered bench on the edge of a meadow where birders can now sit and observe birds in the meadow and the adjacent forest from the same bench. The Scout also installed two barn owl boxes and a structured brush pile nearby.
• The team works together with local Scouts to survey and clean out the bird boxes each year. Species utilizing the boxes are identified by the type of nest constructed.